


paint me butterflies

by dreamthelov



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Artist Huang Ren Jun, Attempt at Humor, Crush at First Sight, Crushes, Cute Ending, Face Painting, Lee Jeno & Na Jaemin Are Best Friends, M/M, Second-Hand Embarrassment, Strangers, This is kinda cute, pink haired jaemin, soft, squint to see nohyuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:55:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23681200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamthelov/pseuds/dreamthelov
Summary: “we should go for a snack. there are lots of food stalls near-” he found his own voice trailing off to a sight of a boy standing a few meters away, looking up on their booth banner that says ‘FACE PAINTING’ in boldly painted letters.“needless to say, i think the snack is already right in front of you.” donghyuck teased. chenle laughed at the statement.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Na Jaemin
Comments: 9
Kudos: 110





	paint me butterflies

**Author's Note:**

> this prompt was with me for a long time now and i glad i finally wrote it! tell me your thoughts abt this :D

ever since the day renjun knew how to hold a crayon, he had always enjoyed doing art. when he was in kindergarten, his parents already had a hint he’d be a promising artist because of the way his drawings were unique compared to the other kids. they weren’t just some random scribbles, or stickman figures─ but something even better than what you imagine a four year old could draw.

doing art only used to be renjun’s just-for-fun hobby, but as soon as time passed by, his crayons turned to colored pencils and sketchbooks, to watercolor materials, then acrylics, oil paints and canvases. it had become a passion he’s immersed to thus taking an art degree in college.

painting faces however (no, not makeup, but literal paint), was something he had never really done before until the university’s foundation week celebration. aka the week all the students are waiting for because: one, you could take a break from all the bloody subjects, two, the university prepares a lot of fun activities, and three, the frosting on the cake, booths.

unfortunately (but not really), renjun was a student council officer and so he was assigned to handle the face painting booth. he couldn’t even complain because the council would provide the paint, he’ll be given extra points, donghyuck and chenle are with him for the booth too, so.

but he’d rather ditch the foundation week and stay at his flat though, if he wasn’t a part of the student council and attendance wasn’t checked.

“there, it’s done,” donghyuck leaned back holding his paintbrush, happily looking over the face paint he did one last time. the customer reached for the hand mirror on the table and uttered a satisfied ‘thanks!’ before walking out from the booth.

“i guess we’re done for today?” renjun said, resting his chin on his palm.

“i can’t believe we’re doing this for free! the council owes us our talent fees,” chenle complained while feeling the numbness of his hand. donghyuck agreed. unexpectedly these college students in the university were still up for some kiddy face painting. and renjun hadn’t counted, but they probably had a hundred of customers just in one sunny morning.

he stood up from his seat and started to fix his things saying, “we should go for a snack. there are lots of food stalls near-” before he found his own voice trailing off to a sight of a boy standing a few meters away, looking up on their booth banner that says ‘FACE PAINTING’ in boldly painted letters.

“needless to say, i think the snack is already right in front of you.” donghyuck teased. renjun wasn’t even looking but he could feel the younger smirk. chenle laughed at the statement.

“hyuck, what the fuck?” he grumbled, threatening to stop his lips from curling up.

donghyuck wasn’t wrong though.

the boy stood a few inches taller than him, his hair as pink as bubblegum which was strange─ in a good way, because he had never seen anyone pull off such hair color. he had on a simple black graphic tee paired with denim jeans, and most importantly he wore a pretty face. _truly a sight_ , renjun thought.

but before he could stare even more, the boy started to walk on his adidas, and approached the booth. renjun was almost flustered about the thought of how evident he must’ve gaped and that this guy probably noticed it. he brushes it off though, along with his friends’ squeal that he could hear in every corner of his head, and greets the boy with a soft smile.

“hi, how may i help you?”

the guy looked at him, and renjun was cussing in his head because, _oh my god,_ he looked very pretty up close.

“well your booth says face painting.. so i guess im here to get my face painted?” the guy tilted his head a little, answering unsurely.

renjun awkwardly chuckled, “of course!” he nearly face palmed at himself, and just gestured the boy to take his seat. _what else could it be?_ his friends however, excused themselves to ‘get some snacks’ before renjun could even say a word. when in fact, it was just them signaling him to flirt with the guy or get his number or something. the thing is, he can’t even flirt.

renjun shrugged and turned to face the guy.

“what should i paint then?” he asked politely, washing the paintbrushes on a jar of clean water. the guy went silent for a second.

“oh, i don’t know. just… anything,”

renjun giggled, “how do i paint ‘anything’?” before reaching out a piece of paper printed with samples. the guy scanned the paper, trying to choose from the variety before pointing out a picture and showing it to renjun.

“this one,” butterflies. renjun nodded, squeezed some paint of different colors onto his palette and sat face to face with the guy. then, he began to dip a brush on the paint before holding his breath and leaning closer to the guy’s face, setting a finger on his jaw to angle his head. it was a part of doing the job but it felt like it was a mistake to even touch his pretty face or even get near it.

the guy sat steadily while renjun started to stroke the brush on his cheekbone, swapping his paintbrushes and washing it on the water from time to time. none of them spoke, as much as renjun wanted to initiate a conversation though, he can’t because he finds it difficult to talk while concentrating on painting.

and his heart was kind of doing a thing when the guy’s eyes were gazing at him (according to his peripheral vision) so, _oh boy_ , renjun just hoped the guy wasn’t hearing his heart fluttering.

the painting was done in no time. renjun leaned away, not realizing how he had been holding his breath the entire time. and if he was being honest with himself, renjun silently wished in his head it lasted a little longer. yet if it did, maybe he had already brushed his lips against the guy’s cheek (so perhaps he was relieved it didn’t last forever).

“there you go,” he finally spoke and lent a small mirror to the guy. renjun was glad it turned out better than expected, mayhaps it was mainly because it fits the boy’s handsome face. the guy checked himself on the mirror, a small smile revealing from his lips a second later. renjun felt his blood rush into his cheeks. _cute_.

“it’s pretty!” he uttered, a pleased smile still flashing from his lips. then he placed the mirror and turned to renjun, “how much do i pay?”

he shook his head as an answer, “it’s free,” which kind of surprised the other.

“no, really?” renjun nodded this time, returning the smile to the boy.

“wow. thanks then! see you around,” he said, glancing again on the mirror before standing up from his seat and leaving the booth. and as if on cue, donghyuck and chenle came back with snacks on their hands, excitedly scooting over renjun.

“so, did you get the pink guy’s number?” donghyuck intriguingly asked, and based on renjun’s facial expression, it was a no.

it was chenle’s turn to ask, “not even his name?” renjun frowned. it totally slipped away from his mind. donghyuck and chenle let out a devastated groan.

“what a waste. he was definitely your type though,” donghyuck remarked.

thinking about how big the university was, renjun never really hoped to find the guy with the familiar pink hair again during the foundation week─ or not. because everytime donghyuck and chenle pointed their fingers out and said, “there he is!”, he always believed and turned his head to see nothing. then pure disappointment gets written all over his face while his friends share an outburst of laughter, annoying him more.

“hahaha. funny, guys.” renjun fakes a laugh and folded his arms together, swearing in his mind that he won’t let himself get fooled by the two.

another day was almost ending, and still no sign of the pink haired boy. renjun ignored his thoughts and looked down on his phone to play games and kill some time, but suddenly donghyuck was poking him on the side.

“i never thought i’d see a pink haired guy around here again?” donghyuck said, still poking the elder on the side.

“lee donghyuck i swear if you don’t-” renjun threatened, about to stand up to strangle his annoying friend but left dumbfounded to see a familiar figure in front of them.

of course, it was the nameless pink haired guy. renjun’s frustrated face immediately turned into a delighted one but that didn’t last long as he noticed the boy… _with another boy?_

_oh._

“hey there,” the boy greeted. renjun managed to return a smile and greeted back.

“this booth’s still open, right?”

“i’m guessing you’re getting your face painted again, with your… boyfriend?” renjun asked gesturing the new guy, getting a surprised reaction from the two boys.

the alleged ‘boyfriend’ laughed, his eyes turning into crescents, “oh no, no, no. it’s not what you think. actually jaemin-”

“actually!” jaemin cut him off.

“we’re just friends.” he continued, as if defending himself. his friend nodded his head in agreement. renjun’s cheeks flushed, feeling the need to disappear from where he’s standing right now. donghyuck and chenle who were next to him weren’t helping at all. he could feel how much these two wanted to stop themselves from snorting.

“oh my god. i’m sorry,” renjun apologized and bit his lower lip, looking down to the ground as humiliation swallowed him whole. on the brighter side, he felt some sort of relief as they were quote, unquote ‘just friends’ according to jaemin.

 _jaemin._ renjun smiled to himself.

“it’s okay! anyway, jeno wanted to get a face painting, so,”

“great! take a seat,” donghyuck said, motioning jeno to a stool and did his work, them having their own little world together. chenle joined them, as if it was telepathy to ignore renjun with his crush.

“what about you, uh, jaemin?” renjun asked, confirming his name. jaemin nodded.

“oh, i just went along here with him,”

jeno butted in, “huh. no you don’t,” which caused donghyuck and chenle to shoot a slightly suspicious glance. jaemin ignored jeno and kept talking.

“what’s your name?” he asked, not even hesitating. renjun thought he had misheard him, but it’s real, jaemin was asking for his name. his heart skipped a beat.

“renjun,”

“renjun.” jaemin repeated. renjun could feel his stomach churn from all the butterflies in it as he heard his name slip from jaemin’s mouth.

“right, uhm, can you paint me something again?” he asked, not sure where his words were leading him to.

“sure,” and started to grab some paint and brushes on the table, “what do i paint?”

“well, i kinda had an idea,” the pink haired boy replied, shyly grinning from ear to ear.

renjun raised a brow, “okay?”

“uhm. your number.” he uttered, scratching the back of his head while facing the ground. the second jaemin said those words, jeno wheezed on his seat. donghyuck and chenle gasped. renjun? his mind went blank.

“what?” his ears perked up, intrigued. he had to make sure he wasn’t hearing things. jaemin let out an embarrassed laugh, his face going red.

still, he faced renjun to meet his eyes, “your number. so i can text you and take out on a date?”

a grin plastered on renjun’s lips, “no, really?” he asked once again, still in disbelief to what the boy said.

jaemin nodded, “really. don't paint it on my face though! just on my wrist. so your number’s all mine,”

“and so that you can be mine?”

**Author's Note:**

> [twt](https://twitter.com/stuphaefy) [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/haeist)


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